Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video.  Here’s the transcript from October 28th and 21st, 2011 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

- Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for October 28th, 2011 as well as last week, October 21st on GreenroofsTV.

- Projects of the Week

-  Our project of the week is the PECO Main Office Building built in 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The rooftop garden, on the top of an eight-story section of the building, holds growing media up to 8 inches thick, and the vegetative covering will reduce rainwater runoff by up to 70 percent and provide better insulation. With an anticipated investment of $15.3 million, the initiative also includes the opening of PECO’s first green building in West Chester, replacement of the landmark Crown Lights messaging system atop the company’s Center City headquarters, energy efficiency upgrades at many of the company’s offices and service centers across the region to comply with LEED certification, as well as community and customer support for energy efficiency and environmental benefits. Mayor Michael Nutter has recognized the roof as a step forward in his quest to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America. In the effort to encourage a critical mass of enlightened Philadelphians to support the development of urban roof top landscapes, the PECO green roof is proving to be a key player. Roofmeadow and the Philadelphia Horticultural Society closely track the native plants to identify those that are best able to endure the harsh conditions of a windy, riverside rooftop.

- To learn more about the PECO Main Office Building greenroof, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.

- Our project of the week last week was the Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Vertical Extensive Green Wall Testing Facility built in 2009 in Singapore. The Landscape Design and Horticulture programme from the School of Life Sciences and Chemical Technology at the college embarked to develop simpler green walls for high rise buildings where 90% of residences are dwellers. Then they evaluated shallow rooted plant species for their growth habit, disease susceptibility, nutrient deficiencies and maintenance requirements. The 2-year research on sustainable plant species for the green wall involved 40 students from the Landscape Design and Horticulture programme and the outcome was a 12m x 2.5m vertical extensive green system uniquely designed for the climate in Singapore.

- And to learn more about the Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Vertical Extensive Green Wall Testing Facility, search project id number “1330” in our Projects Database and/or check out Linda’s blog post about it at Sky Gardens.

“What’s New”

- Industry News Update

-The next round of ecoroof incentives is now open & the City of Portland is again offering FREE technical workshops.

- Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ Awards of Excellence Winners Announced – congratulations to all the great projects and winners, in particular to one of our Contributing Editors, Patrick Carey of hadj Design as the Green Roof Designer, who won in the Green Roof Extensive Residential category for the Hood Canal Project, a private residence in Quilcene, WA.  The greenroof on this coastal residence is a perfect example of a small-scale project with an even smaller development impact.

- The EPA asked ASLA to collect case studies on projects that successfully and sustainably manage stormwater. ASLA members responded with 479 case studies from 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada – by the way, one of the projects where Linda was the greenroof design consultant is included – Rock Mill Park in Alpharetta, Georgia.

- The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection reached a draft agreement to reduce combined sewer overflows into area water bodies. The agreement modifies New York City’s approach to improving harbor water quality, under which the city will invest an estimated $187 million in green infrastructure projects by 2015, part of a planned $2.4 billion public and private investment over the next 20 years.

- Guest Feature

Read “Welcome to the 9th Annual CitiesAlive Green Roof and Wall Conference: Restoring Urban Water: Philadelphia Takes the Lead” by Steven Peck.

-Contributing Editor

- Also, read Christine Thuring’s latest article “GREEN ROOFS ON THE CURVE Virtual Conferencing: WOW it’s NOW!”

Advertiser Press Release:

- LiveRoof® Hybrid Green Roof System Selected for Five New Green Roof Projects in North Carolina.

- Over at Sky Gardens, check out Linda’s latest posts: “Vote for Colombian Greenroofs in ‘Innovadores de America’ – Innovators of America by November 7!,” “GreenRoofs in Australasia’s Greening Cities Conference 2011 in Sydney,” “Are You Going to the International Green Technology Symposium in India?,” “Fall 2011 Portland Ecoroof Opportunities,” “GREEN ROOFS ON THE CURVE 2011,” “Watch the Highlights Video of the ,” “Greenroofs.com’s ‘This Week in Review’ on GreenroofsTV: October 14th, 2011,” and our GPWs for the PECO Main Office Building and Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Vertical Extensive Green Wall Testing Facility.

- “Upcoming Events”

- Today is the last day to participate in our Archived Mode of the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011, so be sure to watch whatever video you haven’t watched yet or you’d like to watch again as well as download info from our sponsors Tremco and American Hydrotech and all of the exhibitors and associates!

- October 26th-29th: is the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association Conference Rosemont, Illinois.

- October 28th-30th: is a Green Living Technologies – Green Roof/Green Wall Installer and Maintenance Technician Certification Training in Penfield, New York.

- October 29th-30th: is a Green Roofs Course, Brighton Permaculture Trust in Brighton, United Kingdom.

- October 30th-November 2nd: is the ASLA 2011 Annual Meeting & EXPO in San Diego, California.

- October 31st-November 2nd: is WGIN’s International Green Technology Symposium 2011 in Indore, India.

- November 3rd-6th: is a GRHC Green Roof Boot Camp in San Francisco, California and on the 4th, there’s a GRHC Advanced Green Roof Maintenance in Chicago, Illinois.

-  Check out our homepage for more Upcoming Events!

- “In the News”

- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announces that the “Tamachi Building Co. Invites Kindergarten Children to Potato Dig At Company’s Rooftop Garden.” They are offering a fun learning opportunity about the environment as a corporate social responsibility activity. They say, “Within the rooftop garden, a 21.5 square meter vegetable garden has been used for potato cultivation. Sweet potato was selected for planting because during the summer season it offers a high green coverage ratio, thereby providing excellent heat insulation; also, sweet potatoes offer good opportunities for children to dig and taste. The remainder of the garden is being utilized primarily for planting grass, flowers and evergreens.”

-  AnnMarie Costella of the Queens Chronicle, reports on “Queens gets a bit cooler with another green roof.” She says the “Jamaica Wastewater Treatment Plant is [the] latest location [to] be outfitted.” A variety of large and small flowering plants have been planted on this 6,000 square foot building, which will be able to absorb up to 13,000 gallons of rainwater and lessen the amount that gets dumped into the sewer system that leads to the Jamaica Bay. This green roof is part of the NYC Green Infrastructure Plan, which calls for $2.4 billion worth of green projects over the next 20 years in order to reduce combined sewer overflows and increase buildings’ absorption of ultraviolet light. Green roofs also improve insulation, interior cooling and energy efficiency.

To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

-  Send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com and share your greenroof or green wall info with the world!

- Make sure to keep up with everything Greenroofs.com by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, being a member of our network on LinkedIn, and subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube!

- This has been This Week in Review for October 28th and 21st, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something?  We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

Patrick Carey, hadj design principal, member of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, greenroof designer and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities trainer extraordinaire – and Architecture Editor here on Greenroofs.com – is featured in the July 27, 2011 KING5.com Evening Magazine video “Go Green with Greenroofs.”  Click below:

Host Jim Dever describes how a green revolution is sprouting up, so to speak!

Patrick is interviewed extensively with Seattle City Hall in the background and on location at several area homes, including the Mazurek Art Studio and Jon Alexander’s Garage.

I was lucky to have visited them all and more along with Patrick Carey in August 2004 – read about it in my previous column (and inspiration for this blog), “Sky Gardens ~ Travels in Landscape Architecture” here.

“I think that green roofs are the greenest thing you can do in construction except not build at all!”  ~ Patrick Carey

Way to go, Patrick!

By the way, Patrick Carey will be leading one of our panels sessions at our upcoming Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011 on August 23 and 24, 2011:  Join him along with Dr. Robert Berghage, Charlie Miller and Ed Snodgrass as they examine “Greenroofs Without the Hype.”

Knowing those four, it should be pretty interesting!  Happy Greening,

~ Linda V.

The Pacific Northwest in general is known for eco-friendly, sustainable building policies, high-performance green architecture, and local innovative building designs.  In fact, Seattle holds the distinct position of being the first U.S. city government committed to Silver LEED™ facilities, adopting its Sustainable Building Policy requiring new city buildings over 5,000 sf to obtain the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification rating in 2000.  But the Seattle area also distinguishes itself in that it has an unusually high number of residential greenroof applications.

Our GPW through today is the lovely 280 sf “Private Seattle Green Roof Garage,” built in 2003 by architect Rob Harrison and his wife, Frith Barbat.  Located in a geographically diverse southeast Seattle neighborhood, the area is filled with parklands, lakefront, wooded hills, and quiet residential streets and boulevards.  Aside from the living roof, construction methods were eco-conscious from the beginning as the homowners capitalized on the property’s existing carport foundation and built the garage mostly with materials salvaged from the previous deck.  It’s really not surprising, since Rob Harrison, AIA, is a Certified Passive House™ Consultant and principal of HARRISON architects. 

The Seattle, Washington firm has been in business since 1984, with the last 18 years devoted to sustainable design.  HARRISON architects’ work is based in “lyrical sustainable design”: conserving energy and resources, using healthier materials and finishes, reducing long-term costs, and making poetic places.  By working with consultants, contractors and suppliers who share their values, the experience results in a convivial, collaborative design and construction process.  And when you’re the client/architect, and it’s easy to be creative in this environment.

“Since it was our own house (rather than a client’s!), we thought it would be a great opportunity to experiment with a less expensive residential alternative to $15/sf proprietary (and warrantied) green roof systems used on commercial projects, and so promote the use of green roofs in residential applications.” ~ Rob Harrison

And since Rob was a member of the local chapter of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, he had plenty of local expertise and volunteers for help.  The Northwest EcoBuilding Guild is an alliance of builders, designers, suppliers, homeowners, and partners concerned with ecological building in the Pacific Northwest.  Their mission is to provide leadership in education to transform the built environment and build a sustainable society.  In those years, hadj design directed the greenroofing efforts for the Guild, and the firm’s principal, Patrick Carey (also our Architecture Editor), was one of the consultants and volunteers on this project, as seen below in the bucket brigade system used to haul the growing media up to the roof.

Originally, Rob designed the space to call his own for a “manly” workshop (the garage is featured on the cover of the book ManSpace: A Primal Guide to Marking Your Territory by Sam Martin, about “dens, caves, lairs, hangouts, hideaways, workshops, studios, drinking sheds and man houses”).  The one-car garage housed space for tools, one bicycle, two vintage motorcycles and their Mini Cooper.

But things have changed – at present, the garage now holds just one motorcycle (a new gas-efficient model with a catalytic converter) and the family’s six bicycles.  They sold the car seven months ago, and have been giving the car-free life a try – so far, so good!

Originally planted with Eco-Turf (a mixture of baby blue eyes, red clover, yarrow, and fescues) and a variety of drought tolerant sedums, they’ve also added strawberries, nasturtiums and poppies to the greenroof.

Venturing onto YouTube this past February, Rob came across the above advertisement for Pepsi’s new humanitarian/environmental effort, the Pepsi Refresh Project, and was surprised to see his own green-roofed garage!  He explains that a couple years ago fashion/rock star photographer Karen Moskovitz came over with a young model family to shoot some stock “lifestyle” photos and video using his garage as the backdrop.  He’s quick to point out that it’s not him watering the roof!

“We might do that if we’ve planted new plants up there and need to get them started, but otherwise, not,” Rob says.  Actually, maintenance has been really minimal – they only watered the first year during establishment and have only spent about one hour’s worth total weeding and the occasional introduction of new plants during the first three years.  He adds, “It’s a bit odd to be shilling Pepsi, even if very indirectly, but I do like the idea that we are clearly living in some one’s idea of a better future!”

By the way, the Pepsi Refresh Project is looking for people, businesses, and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact in their communities, and is giving millions of dollars in grants in the categories of Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods, and Education.

Any lessons learned with a greenroof so close to home that you can see daily?  In the more recent photos that Rob sent me, see above and below, it’s obvious the roof has seceded to mostly grasses, so I asked him if is it still that way – Yes.

Rob says now that the roof is seven years old, in retrospect he would not have introduced any grasses on the roof at all, as the area planted in Eco-Turf has spread over the entire roof and overtaken the sedums, which are still there, but are hard to see.  But he muses, ”The wavy grass does have its own attractions, especially in the dry summer here, where it reminds me of the Palouse in eastern Washington.”

Does he plan to keep it as it has naturalized or does he have other designs?  Rob’s response: 

“I’m of two minds on the secession of the roof to mostly grasses.  On the one hand I like the look of the grass, and the way the motion of the grass in the wind animates the building, and it’s tempting to let the roof do its own thing and see what develops naturally.  On the other hand, grass forms a dense mat of roots that is surprisingly impermeable.  We haven’t made a big decision to replant the whole roof yet, but we’ve been pulling out clumps of grass here and there, and planting more sedums as we acquire them from friends and neighbors.”

This beautiful private Seattle vegetated roof is one example of sustainability on a smaller scale in a city full of greening efforts.  It has been featured in many publications and tours, both public and private. The photo above resulted from an AIA Seattle seminar on greenroofs held at the architect’s home in 2006, in conjunction with folks from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

Visible from the alleyway behind it and, more importantly, from the home’s kitchen window, the Harrison/Barbat family agrees their Seattle garage greenroof is a pleasure to behold every day – in all seasons and all forms.

~ Linda V.

(Note:  See Patrick Carey’s article about the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild from June, 2003 here, and my August, 2004 Sky Gardens ~ Travels in Landscape Architecture column about Seattle’s early sustainability leaders and efforts here.)

Known as “The Rose City” for its famous yearly Rose Festival and The Grand Floral Parade in early June, Portland Oregon could also be easily known as “The Eco City” or perhaps even “The Green City” because of their ongoing commitment to preserving their magnificent waterways and forests while promoting sustainable design and development through progressive urban policies and public outreach.  The last time we were there was for the 2nd Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards & Trade Show in 2004.  And we spent some time here in late 2003 when I was compiling info for my Sky Gardens ~ Travels in Landscape Architecture column on the area.  Such a beautiful city!

On March 12-13, the lovely City of Portland will be sponsor and host to their annual free Ecoroof Portland.  What an amazing city for supporting greenroofs – or ecoroofs, as they refer to them here.  Currently with about 200 projects within the city, ecoroofs cover about 10 acres, leading the U.S. in total area greened after Chicago.  And they were one of the first, if not the first, municipality in the nation to offer incentives.  As part of the Grey to Green Initiative, the City of Portland is offering an incentive of up to $5 per square foot for ecoroofs towards a target of 43 additional acres by 2013.  In the past year, the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) awarded the incentive to 50 projects for a total of over 4 acres.  Read more in Industry Support and the City’s Incentive Project Page for more information. You can visit ecoroofs and other sustainable stormwater projects in Portland with these self-guided tours, and the City maintains an Ecoroof Blog, which is very informative, too!

The premier champion there of stormwater mitigation, and ecoroofs in particular, is Tom Liptan, ASLA.  I’ve known Tom for over 12 years, when I first contacted him about greenroofs back when I was a landscape architecture student at UGA a had “discovered” them myself.  Gracious, kind, and accommodating, he nurtured and fueled my passion for this earth-friendly sustainable technology.  And Tom has always put his money where his mouth is – he installed one of the first ecoroofs in Portland atop his garage in 1996.  The now famous Liptan Garage Greenroof served as early a demonstration project and testing grounds for a variety of factors – read more in the profile.

Designed to inform a varied audience of professionals and homeowners, the lineup of speakers will educate and inspire you to consider a greenroof on your next project.  A Vendor Fair with over 60 professionals and organizations will be on-hand both days to share their ecoroof experience, products, and services.  Featured speakers include Dr. David J. Sailor, Ed Snodgrass, and me!  Dr. Sailor is a full professor at the Mechanical and Materials Engineering faculty at Portland State University, Member Faculty of the Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST), and directs Portland State University’s Green Building Research Laboratory.  Ed Snodgrass is co-owner of Emory Knoll Farms/Green Roof Plants, a fifth generation farmer and nurseryman specializing in plants and horticultural consulting for greenroofs.  An accomplished speaker and writer (“Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide”), he’s also our Plant Editor who writes his occasional column “Ask Ed“  – read my “From Llamas to Greenroofs: An Interview with Ed Snodgrass.”  See full profiles here and a complete list of all the speakers and Agenda here.

See Ed on Friday at 12:00 pm at the Welcome and Keynote Address where Environmental Services Director Dean Marriott will welcome attendees and introduce Ed as the Keynote Speaker.  His presentation will focus on the role of ecoroofs in sustainable cities.  On Saturday at noon, Commissioner Dan Saltzman will welcome attendees and introduce me – I will be presenting “Hot Trends in Greenroof Design,” a compilation of my favorite international projects from our Top 10 Lists from the past with a look at some of the new, innovative, leading vanguard and projects for 2010.  On Saturday at 4:00 pm Ed will be part of a panel where you can get some help getting started on your own ecoroof project – “The Ecoroof Doctors are IN,” along with Tom Liptan, David Elkin, and Alice Meyers from BES, and Patrick Carey of hadj design, a Green Roofs for Healthy Cities trainer, and our Architecture Editor.  Patrick writes an occasional architectural column entitled “A View from the Sky Trenches,” where he selects and discusses pertinent greenroof industry topics.

Don’t miss Ecoroof Portland!  It will run on Friday and Saturday, March 12 & 13, 2010 at the Leftbank Annex, located at 101 N. Weidler St in downtown Portland.  It’s very close to the Rose Quarter – you can find directions by clicking the following link.  Learn all about Ecoroof Portland 2010 at the City’s BES website.

If you can attend, please stop by and say hello!  Happy greening,

~ Linda V.